New FMLA Policy
Issue #44
February 25, 2008
I have recently been asked by a number of clients about the best method for establishing safety goals. A prerequisite of effective health and safety goals is that they must be SMART, ie: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-sensitive. The challenge arises when discussing what criteria to use in measuring the success of the safety program.
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure” - Drucker
Measurement is a key step in any management process and forms the basis of continual improvement. If measurement is not carried out correctly, the effectiveness of the health and safety management system is undermined and there is no reliable information on which to base success.
While the development of criteria for good safety measures is certainly not an easy task, let’s explore some of the various options from which we can choose. There are two categories of available tools: (1) activity (or performance) measures and (2) results measures.
Results Measures
When I ask people how they measure the success of their companies health and safety programs, the only measure quoted is typically injury statistics. While the general business performance (sales, profits, etc.) of an organization are subject to a range of positive measures, for health and safety it too often comes down to one negative measure, injury and illness statistics – measures of failure.
One method often used is the tracking of two figures to measure company-wide safety performance: the frequency rate, which is the number of disabling injuries (lost time cases) per-worker-hours, and the severity rate, which is the number of days lost, or charged, per-worker-hours. An advantage to this method is that these figures can be compared to the Bureau of Labor Statistics for a specific industry so a company can compare their performance with that of their peers.
Another popular results measure is dollars, probably because they are understandable and meaningful to everyone in the organization. Some of the possibilities include:
- Dollar losses (claim costs) from the insurance company,
- Total dollar losses, including “hidden costs” (see risKey #39),
- Estimated total costs,
- Insurance loss ratio,
- Insurance premium,
- Insurance experience modification factor.
According to Dan Petersen, author of Safety by Objectives and a recognized expert in Risk Management Theory, “We cannot use accident statistics to judge performance at almost any level, as they measure mostly luck . . . we must use activity measures to judge safety performance.” In Safety by Objectives, Mr. Petersen also states, “Traditional safety philosophy does not use the necessary tools to quantify its objectives or the value of its programs, although modern management tools have been developed and are available.”
Performance Measures
Consider managing safety as we manage anything else, through defining roles, defining tasks, measuring performance of those tasks, and rewarding appropriately. Depending on the size of the organization, we may want to define roles at various levels, such as:
- 1. The role of the first line supervisor in carrying out some agreed upon tasks to an acceptable level of performance.
- 2. The roles of middle and upper management for:
- a. Ensuring subordinate performance.
- b. Ensuring the quality of that performance.
- c. Personally engaging in some agreed upon tasks.
- 3. The role of the executive in visibly demonstrating the priority of safety.
- 4. The role of the safety staff to advise and assist each of the above.
Once the roles are defined, we can then define the tasks, or safety activities, that must be carried out at the various levels. Examples include:
- Regular safety inspections
- Hold meetings
- Perform one-on-ones
- Investigate accidents
- Do job safety analysis
- Make observations
- Enforce rules
- Keep records
- Give positive strokes
- Ensure employee participation
- Crises intervention
Now we can measure a person’s performance to hold them accountable and know whether he or she is performing well. Without measurement, accountability becomes an empty and meaningless concept.
The safety activities selected to be measured are those already incorporated in the company’s safety and accident prevention program. By establishing a monthly reporting process, we can easily determine that we are staying on track relative to our safety activity goals.
A Combination
In order to satisfy all levels of an organization, it is probably best to use a combination of performance and results measures in developing your safety goals. The good news is that there are numerous web-based solutions available today to help even small companies create, implement, and track the necessary data so success can be measured throughout the year.
Free for the Asking . . . .
I will be happy to send you a safety performance matrix that can be used in defining the various safety roles and responsibilities of your organizations managers and supervisors. Just email your request to ed@kempkey.com and I will email the document back to you.
Kempkey Insurance Services goes beyond insurance by designing and implementing risk management programs for growth oriented businesses. We help our clients maximize the value of their insurance dollars and minimize their potential for unwanted surprises. Ed Kempkey can be contacted at (888) 536-7539 extension 2188.